—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—
LOS ANGELES, California (April 3, 2011) – Nearly 700 people attended the seventh annual fundraiser by WhyIslam, an Islamic Circle of North America project, on Saturday, April 2, 2011. The night centered on Islamophobia and importance of rising up to the challenge.
Introducing various ICNA projects in the fields of outreach, education and social services, Yasir Shah, the ICNA chapter president of Southern California said “One thing for sure, is that Islamophobia is on the rise.”
This year’s banquet was unique, as it not only raised funds for ICNA’s flagship and most popular project, WhyIslam, but also for its social services department ICNA Relief and its educational institution the Islamic Learning Foundation.
The audience was treated to an insightful and educational panel of scholars: Shuyukh Mustafa Umar, Abul Haitham and Junaid Kharsany. Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of Tony Blair- former UK prime minister, shared her experience with Islamophobia in the early stages of her journey, which led to her conversion to Islam six months ago.
ICNA Southern California would like to thank donors and supporters for their support and prayers. We also apologize to attendees for any inconveniences during the event. Although we worked hard to host a professional event and constantly revised and estimated attendance figures, we were overwhelmed by the unusually high number of registrants at the door. We pray that we succeed in translating this community enthusiasm into positive activism in Southern California.
Your commitment to helping prepare the Muslim community to work for Islam will prove invaluable for our future and help us succeed on three fronts:
1. Informing the non-Muslims community about Islam through our WhyIslam Dawah project. This has proven to be an especially effective way to give grassroots dawah and combat misinformation through media and other avenues.
2. Educating the Muslim community and providing them with the information they need to fight misconceptions. Through our Islamic Learning Foundation (ILF) project we are creating more scholars to provide the Muslim community, especially our youth, with the tools and understanding needed to break stereotypes.
3. Helping those that are underserved through our ICNA Relief social services. We will help those that are hungry, homeless, and abused regardless of faith or race, while reaching out and encouraging the non-Muslim community to support this kind of work in their area.
Southern California Contact: Waqas Syed
Deputy Secretary General
Office: (714) 333-ICNA (4262)
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